Capital gains tax

A capital gains tax is a form of taxation implemented in some countries, such as the United Kingdom, on captial gains, or the profit made on selling certain assets like stocks or real estate at a higher value than they were purchased at. In July of 1996, Chancellor of the ExchequerAlistair Darling attempted to pass a finance bill that included, in part, a change to the capital gains tax that would alter it from a sliding scale based on income to a single flat rate. These changes were considered controversial, at least by British publication The Guardian, and several organisations and individuals, including shadow chancellor George Osborne and Lush co-founder Mark Constantine.[1]